Identification tags have long been employed for assisting in the identification and tracking of physical assets, and to facilitate timely safety inspection of certain assets to comply with applicable regulations. Various types of I.D. tags are sold by numerous companies, including Scafftag Ltd. U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 314,016 and 316,877 disclose specific types of identification tags.
Most identification tags rely upon printed matter for visually providing relevant information about the tagged asset to a human reader. Typical information includes the type of equipment tagged, the equipment manufacturer and model number, and the date of the last equipment safety inspection. While systems utilizing printed matter tags are relatively inexpensive, they suffer from problems associated with the loss or separation of the tag from the physical asset, the misreading and misentry of information from the tag by the human reader, and the inaccurate or insufficiency of safety inspection data on the tag. Tagged equipment is often placed in a harsh environment, and printed information on tags frequently is covered with dirt or grease, so that the printed tag cannot be read. In other environments, the tag material or the print on the tag is damaged or quickly aged by chemical exposure or weather conditions, so that the tag cannot be read. Moreover, considerable time and expense are required to obtain access to the tag, read and record the information, and input the information into a computer recordation system.
One of the more promising technologies for overcoming the problems associated with printed matter tags includes the use of a tag with an electronic transponder to store relevant information. The cost of radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders has significantly reduced in recent years, and commercially available RFID transponders are available from various suppliers for providing either a "read only" output, or a "write and read" output. Accordingly, an identification tag with an electronic transponder can be read by a radio frequency reader device, which may electronically record and process the data for inventory, tracking, and safety recordation purposes. The transponder may thus be placed at a position where it cannot easily be engaged by an operator, although the information in the transponder may still be read by a remote reader. Moreover, line of sight between the transponder and the reader is not required. The cost of manually reading the identifying information is significantly reduced, and the information is accurately recorded electronically in a format which does not require the subsequent manual entry of data into a computer.
Major problems associated with electronic or "smart" identification tagging systems are the limited versatility of the tag, the high cost of manufacturing the tag, the limited techniques for attaching the tag to the physical asset, and the high cost of initially tagging and retagging the asset. Most commercially available RFID tags integrate the transponder into the tag when the tag is initially manufactured. Accordingly, the limitations and features of the transponder are fixed when the tag is initially manufactured. Also, prior art electronic tags are then attached to the asset utilizing a particular attachment technique. Since the assets vary widely, the tag frequently may not be secured to the asset at a location which is best suited for the subsequent identification and reading of the tag by the RFID reader. Accordingly, significant costs are associated with initially tagging and subsequently re-tagging the physical assets. Other RFID tagging systems embed the transponder in the physical asset when the asset is manufactured. This technique has some advantages, but in most cases the asset manufacturer is not willing to devise a "special" tagged product for customers who desire that feature. All prior art RFID tagging systems have significant inventory costs since the entire cost of the tag including the RFID transponder is incurred when the tag is manufactured. When the desired "read only" information in the transponder changes, the manufacturing and inventory cost of the entire tag is effectively lost.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention. An improved electronic tracking tag is hereinafter disclosed which allows a selected transducer to be incorporated into the tag just prior to affixing the tag to the physical asset. The tag is manufactured in a manner which facilitates its attachment to the physical asset in a selected one of various attachment techniques, thereby significantly increasing the number of suitable locations on the physical asset for attaching the tag, and for significantly reducing the cost of tagging the asset.